1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a hearing aid and to a method for the operation of hearing aids in which a quantity relating to an abnormal operating condition(s) is determined and transmitted to an external system. The present invention is particularly directed to the maintenance and operation of hearing aids.
2. Description of the Related Art
Communication between a hearing aid acoustician and a hearing aid normally proceeds via a PC programming device with or without a cable connection. Diagnosing hearing aid faults or adapting the hearing aid is thus limited to the work place of the hearing aid acoustician. One problem with this is that when the customer has left this work place, the hearing aid acoustician usually has no further influence of the proper functioning of this complex device.
Another problem is that the older users who are more likely to be hearing aid wearers are also less attentive in recognizing abnormal conditions of their hearing aid on their own. In such instances, hearing aids are often operated with diminished functionality, which frequently leads to user dissatisfaction.
International Patent Application WO 0016590 A1 discloses such a system for programming hearing aids. This system has a host computer with a communication program for programming the hearing aid. The host computer comprises a first communication interface for sending and receiving control and data signals. A hearing aid programming interface device is connected to the communication interface of the host computer and has a second communication interface for sending and receiving data signals. The first communication interface can be a PCMCIA, USB, RS-232, SCSI or IEEE-1394 interface that is designed for sending and receiving serial data and control signals to and from the hearing aid programming interface device. The first communication interface can likewise be a wireless communication interface that wirelessly exchanges control and data signals with the hearing aid programming interface device.
Additionally, the International Patent Application WO 9641498 A1 discloses a hearing aid that comprises an earpiece that can be completely introduced into the ear canal and that wirelessly communicates with a remote processor unit that amplifies audio signals. The sound of the environment is picked up by a microphone in the earpiece and is sent to the processor unit via a wireless two-way connection together with other information. The wireless connection is set up by microwaves for miniaturizing the components. Over and above this, the wireless connection can also be set up by radar technology.